Thoughts&Observations | Mangá Vol.20-26 Part 8 (B!Jounouchi VS Yugi)

you will notice a slight change in some titles, the number more specifically, including the number of volumes I will be covering, which means I will be covering 7 volumes, and the finals will be 5 volumes, the last volumes duelist.
Now will be making the transition from Volume Duelist 15-16 (in japanese print version is volume 22-23).
Before getting to the summary, you maybe wondering about why I didn't include Dark Yugi in the title when he plays in the beginning and very little, since is mostly Yugi who is dueling, I thought it would be kinda pointlessly long title and Yugi is the main focus and Jounouchi, also the summary will be long,there is a bit of focus on the duel itself since they are very relevant and the post itself will be very long, as this duel is extremely important.
To be able to distinguish between the real Jounouchi and brainwashed Jounouchi, when is brainwashed I'm refering to as b!jounouchi and when is the real one is just his name.

Plot Summary:

The duel starts between b!jounouchi and Dark Yugi, Dark Yugi begins with defensive moves, trying to think of a way to how to free Jounouchi from Marik and get them both to survive from this death match, b!Jounouchi is attacking with banned cards that the ghouls has created and edited Jounouchi's deck being full of them, Dark Yugi tries to talk through, but affects very little and Kaiba is worried about their lives but is in a tight spot as well with Mokuba's life in danger.
Dark Yugi feeling very hurt, he starts listening to Yugi's voice, Yugi and Dark Yugi comments about the situation, Yugi suggests to duel against b!jounouchi, Dark Yugi at first is hesitant in letting him play but tells him if Yugi's life is in danger he will be taking over and they do Mind Shuffle.
As Yugi starts taking over, surprises b!jounouchi and Kaiba, he makes lots of very smart and bold but very risky moves driven by his faith in Jounouchi and their friendship to shake up b!jounouchi to weaken Marik's control and it's effective.
The duel gets more dangerous and Dark Yugi gets worried for Yugi's safety, he tells he will be taking over, Yugi refuses as response and explains his reasons and asks to just watch, removes his millenium puzzle to stop Dark Yugi from taking over.
The scene changes while the duel is happening, in Domino Station, Honda, Ryuji and Shizuka just arrived to where Battle City is happening, they meet Mai and she notices Jounouchi's sister and purposes to Shizuka that she will take her to her brother, so they have a ride on Mai's car to go to the Domino Pier.
The scene changes back to the duel, Marik starts making mistakes that affect strongly and shake up even more b!jounouchi  and weaken his control over Jounouchi, Yugi asks b!jounouchi to take care of the millenium puzzle for him, Yugi puts his millenium puzzle on b!jounouchi and it shake up b!jounouchi again when was about to throw a piece of the millenium puzzle, as the duel goes on, there is some back and forth, as Yugi tries to remind b!jounouchi of events which helps the brainwash gradually wear off.
The back and forth of the duel while is still on, Kaiba gets free from the ghouls and saving Mokuba, but even so is not enough, so Kaiba and Mokuba can only watch the duel.
Marik is having a difficult time to control b!jounouchi, finally Yugi provokes Marik to attack him and he fell for it, Yugi uses his last card to capture Marik's attack putting in a position that he can attack his opponent or himself and with this Jounouchi is fully back and to buy time to say his final words to his friend, Yugi makes himself drop his life points to 0 in effort to save Jounouchi and few seconds later Jounouchi does the same to save Yugi, so Yugi was saved by Jounouchi and Jounouchi by Kaiba, then Jounouchi puts the millenium puzzle on Yugi.

(sorry for being a bit long but it was much longer than this, that's how hugely important this duel is).

Key Points:

 

Reading what Dark Yugi is saying to b!jounouchi, there are words that doesn't affect him and others that it does, when he says "Don't you feel pain...in your duelist heart?", you see by his expression he is very sad seeing Jounouchi being controlled by Marik and b!jounouchi reaction to it as if mocking it, he feels more hurt so what he says makes it more clearer what he is feeling (it's actually kinda moving):

"The pain in my body...it's not from being burned by your cards...it's the pain of my sadness seeing you lose your heart as duelist!"

This quote, you can actually feel a little bit the pain of Dark Yugi, I don't fully agree when it says duelist heart, because what about the outside of it? so I interpret as the piece of his heart is a duelist, because there is more that defines Jounouchi outside of dueling, and you see these words actually has a small effect on b!jounouchi, since the brainwash of Jounouchi is to focus and prepared only for Dark Yugi, he will have less effect even if their bond is very strong, so it requires the right person to free Jounouchi...

(On a additional note, the art in this duel is quite beautiful, in this section, specially Dark Yugi, you can see Kazuki Takahashi put a lot of effort on this duel)

You can see in these 3 panels, Yugi still has some difficulties to reach Dark Yugi and Dark Yugi to hear Yugi during duels due to his ego and pride that blocks it, we have to remember even though he is a bit more humble now, it doesn't change his ego is still big, specially his "duelist ego and pride" because outside of duels, Yugi has no difficulty to reach Dark Yugi, this time around Yugi to reach him didn't took as long when it was against Kaiba and Pegasus, you see there is some progress in their connection between spirit and host.


If you want to continue reading this post click "read more" below:

 

Yugi thinks he was always afraid of others before they became friends, his self-esteem was at it's lowest back then, Yugi claims he was always scared and a coward, I actually disagree mostly with him, sure he was bit scared, simply because he is against violence and wasn't athletic which at that kind of time is believed if you were this way, you're a wimp and a coward and "not manly", you know toxic masculinity, when Yugi stood up for himself, he would be very vocal of his pacifist principles (the very first chapter, when stood for himself against Jounouchi and shield Jounouchi and Honda from further beat up by Ushio) which emphasises his kindness being a strength when to many is considered a weakness, he would always act selfless without his friends knowing he was in trouble, like what he did for Hanasaki and his friends in chapter 3, Yugi isn't aware not just anyone would be capable of what he did and stand up for his principles without even realising it, he is very blind about his own strengths.
I find interesting Dark Yugi was shocked by Yugi's suggestion to fight b!jounouchi with a determined expression, when was against Pegasus, he was a bit timid but eager to help but Dark Yugi is also worried.

 

Dark Yugi is against it in the beginning, saying is too difficult and describes as being more against Marik than Jounouchi, the tone Yugi replies "I know that." to this affirmation, it's not really in a self-deprecating tone and neither timid with no reticencies, sounds a bit as if he thinks Dark Yugi stated the obvious or he figured that part already which would be why Yugi made such an effort to call Dark Yugi and suggested to take his place, probably because he noticed the weakness in Marik's attitude in focusing on Dark Yugi only and that Marik is probably unprepared if is Yugi, we have to remember Yugi is very good at thinking outside the box specially when comes to problem-solving and usually is very insightful, among other reasons...

Here is approached again by Yugi about what Dark Yugi said that Yugi made his wish come true on his own (which implied Dark Yugi kinda knew what was happening before the puzzle was completed), which means Yugi have been reflecting on it, maybe even realise it a few things from the events of the first chapter, he must have noticed it was  very likely Jounouchi who has given the missing piece to complete the millenium puzzle to his grandfather Sugoroku, which means Jounouchi saw Yugi as friend before he completed the puzzle, so he must have heeded this.

Yugi says he wants to prove that in this duel, Dark Yugi was surprised and understood what he meant, I think at this time he had some suspicions and almost sure regarding what I wrote above about the last piece of the puzzle in his mind and faith in their friendship.

Dark Yugi is quite hesitant, you see when he accepts on condition if his life is seriously in danger he will take over, Dark Yugi takes very seriously his responsibility in protecting his host also he kinda talks like a big brother, which points out the other difference between Ryou Bakura and Yami Bakura in comparison with Yugi and Dark Yugi in few posts ago, Yami Bakura treats his host as if his property and mistreat him horribly as well and Ryou Bakura isn't even conscious of it at all, while in here with Yugi and Dark Yugi, their bond is so strong that they help each other and reach a compromise, can talk to each other, even Yugi can reach somehow Dark Yugi when he is duelling, he has conscience when Dark Yugi is taking over (in the begining he had blackouts, he didn't remember when Dark Yugi was taking over, it was a very slow process but did get there), Yugi makes his own decisions and Dark Yugi respects it as well, in this occasion he is fearful because of the last time Yugi took his place against Pegasus and this time is a deathmatch.

It's clear b!jounouchi was shocked it was Yugi who took over even the Jounouchi from deep down was and so was Marik, which shows how unprepared Marik was for this that shook up his control, I think Yugi was suspecting this, if you give a little shocks or element of surprise in your actions and moves, it might shake the control, if shocks Marik who is controling it would shake up his control grip over Jounouchi and in consequence it would aid in bringing Jounouchi back, Yugi must have a theory in his mind but is aware is a very risky thing to do.

 

In the panels shows Kaiba and Marik were shocked, however the way they refer to Yugi irritates me a little (except Mokuba, he doesn't irritate me, he addresses by the same name both of them, probably sees the "original Yugi" as "the front Yugi" and Dark Yugi as "the back yugi"), Kaiba bugged me the most that in his thought refers to the real Yugi as "the other yugi", I understand is because he often interacts most with Dark Yugi, if he just referred to him as "front yugi" or "original Yugi" I would let it slide, but to refer the "original Yugi" as "the other yugi" makes me want to punch him in the face.

Marik not so much, because he then corrects himself, being Yugi to fight was good shock on Marik, he felt specially irritated it was Yugi, because he was unprepared for Yugi and his hatred is directed at Dark Yugi, so Yugi is interfering with his plans, when he demands to bring out Dark Yugi, Yugi replies "too bad. it's my turn", who would guess Yugi could be a bit sassy and it was more to Marik than to b!jounouchi, you see Yugi is starting to get much less timid when addressing to his opponent (DDD battle with Ryuji Otogi had a deep impact on him).

 

Yugi has his priorities quite right (Dark Yugi was sort of there but not quite there, because he was putting their duelist pride ahead of their friendship), since Jounouchi's heart and Yugi and Jounouchi friendship are some of the roots of Jounouchi Self and since they're duelling, so the duelist part in his heart is a good start for many reasons, it's not about pride but what made Jounouchi invested in becoming a duelist, it's not in his roots but is linked to it (remember what I define to me from my observations and experience of similar, to me duelist is a player who is massively or fairly invests in this world in TCG Magic and Wizards, in summary a huge fan of the game), so it can reach the real Jounouchi.

 

One could think is a very stupid move (which is what Marik thinks), but in fact is a very smart and risky move, you see he really has a theory of how to make Jounouchi free of Marik by wanting to play a certain card first before the Red-Eyes to make sure of something to test his theory, he was a bit doubtful at first but his faith in and determination to get Jounouchi back to his real self is what drives him forward with his plan, Dark Yugi was shocked seeing such a dangerous move, there will be more things he will be shocked in this duel...

 

It's Jounouchi from the inside that recognises immediately with "My Red-Eyes Black Dragon!!", I don't think it's the only card that represents Jounouchi part as a duelist, I think he has this reaction because is his card (I think would happen the same with one of his other cards, since his other cards are just as important to him), It's also very important since he gained from a duel he won on his own for the first time without Yugi's or Dark Yugi's advices and represents his big step forward in becoming a duelist, that's the kind of value the card has for him, Time Wizard is important as well with a different value to him that relates to Yugi and Baby Dragon, Flame Swordsman represents well Jounouchi's fighting spirit, his gamble deck theme, most of his cards being warrior cards as well says a lot about his roughness, each card he has have different and unique meanings for him and fills like pieces of a puzzle about him as player/duelist.

It's amazingly annoying  how overconfident Marik is, at least Dark Yugi's and Kaiba's overconfidence is funny (specially Kaiba), he will eat those words for underestimating Yugi, he has no idea what's coming to him, Dark Yugi's expression shows not only surprise but also understanding Yugi's real intentions with this move...

 

This was Yugi's real intentions with this move to test his theory and he was right, it was very effective to shake off Marik's grip, we see Yugi reaction when his plan works (glad it worked and confirmed his plan to get Jounouchi back might work) but we don't see Dark Yugi reaction, one has to wonder what he thought...now as to the reason why Jounouchi didn't take Red-Eyes...

It's definitively some of the reasons but the promise they made is not just a bond between two duelists but also because they're friends, Yugi confirmed for him and Dark Yugi that Jounouchi's friendship with Dark Yugi is very important to Jounouchi, Dark Yugi's and Jounouchi's quest to discover what it means being a "True Duelist" symbolises their friendship, it was from there it started in Duelist Kingdom when Dark Yugi's gave one of his 2 stars to Jounouchi in retribution for Jounouchi trying to cheer him up and to save Shizuka by participating in the tournament, technically it was Dark Yugi who initiated Jounouchi's investment in becoming a duelist.

Now it only misses what it symbolises Yugi and Jounouchi friendship and other bonds Jounouchi has...

 

Yugi is quite stubborn in believing he was a coward (when he wasn't, a coward is someone who acts out of fear and save his own skin only, Yugi doesn't do any of this), when he isn't, Yugi says if he never met him he would think he would be always a coward, I disagree a lot because even before completing the puzzle he was already courageous and even before realising Dark Yugi's existence, he did plenty selfless acts and stand up for himself a few times, he is very honest and true to himself but lacks some self-awareness and his low self-esteem is what holds him back and should know that fear is a normal emotion and now if you invest it too much that's when it becomes a problem.

Even though Yugi is doing for the reasons he stated, but there is more he doesn't tell Dark Yugi...

 

Dark Yugi really irritates me a little in this moment and I have been wanting to write about this part for quite some time, he is underestimating Yugi abilities, the way he phrases he knows Yugi is good but he thinks himself is more skilled than Yugi and more suitable to deal with this situation, it actually gets on my nerves, when Yugi's tactics is being more effective (he may be my favourite character, but sometimes...) however on the other hand, he is genuinely worried for Yugi's safety and he is probably suspecting due to Yugi's kind-hearted nature will do something selfless again and get himself hurt and in this case he could die... which is why Dark Yugi says that he could die and begs "Other me! Don't let yourself die!", he is technically asking to not do something selfless again (which is why Dark Yugi and friends has always the tendency to protect, defend and stand up for Yugi, not letting Yugi do it himself, sheltering him because they don't like seeing someone so kind get hurt, even them see kindness as a weakness to some extent, we know Yugi doesn't like much always being protected as can be noted in this post ).

This much faith Yugi has on Jounouchi means future events in not just Jounouchi will come back, it means he can count on him to save him like he did countless times before but Yugi is taking priority in getting back and save Jounouchi first, if is someone he wants to get alive first is Jounouchi (Yugi prepapring to do something selfless again).

 

The fact Yugi removes his millenium puzzle to not let Dark Yugi interfere, it seems the millenium puzzle needs to touch him or close to his skin for the "mind shuffle" to happen, the other reasons why Yugi wants to fight himself besides saving Jounouchi, he is keeping secret from Dark Yugi, it's to become more independent like it was approached in this post and the difficult decision he made as Pharaoh's vessel duty that was written in this post , even though Yugi was always very strong without even knowing but is still important let his strength stand on it's own and go full bloom plus continue growing, this is a battle for Yugi to overcome his low self-esteem issues, is not just against b!jounouchi, it's also a battle against himself, becoming more decisive, active, subconsciously gaining maturity and becoming wiser.

*deep breaths* Kaiba can be sometimes...I just hope he means by his kind-nature and because is a deathmatch, even if is the case, it's not like Dark Yugi was doing any better to begin with, besides it was Yugi's decision to the point in not letting Dark Yugi interfere by removing the puzzle, if he can handle or not, is not up to Kaiba to judge it, it's the person who's making the decision, well Yugi will handle actually better, but not in a way one would really expect...

I really like this scene, it's cute and funny, Mai highly praising Jounouchi only in front of Shizuka and in her mind, in front of him she likes to tease him because she is a very prideful person, another thing, when Mai starts talking to Shizuka, she recognizes immediately of a woman, as Mai continues, she blushes a little while praising her brother suggests to take her to him, it's intentional Mai's voice is a bit naturally seductive and Shizuka probably has an image of how Mai looks.

Additional note, the drawings of Mai in this scene I really like it, specially her eyes, you really see she is truly beautiful.

 

When b!jounouchi was about to throw a piece of the millenium puzzle, it was in a instant Jounouchi's memories from the first chapter came because his body motion made it remember how Yugi and Jounouchi became friends, it shows the millenium puzzle is linked to their friendship but it wasn't what made it happened, it was Yugi's kindness, in a sense the millenium puzzle itself, as an artefact symbolises their friendship, specially the kindness of Yugi, you see in these shots Jounouchi was quite moved and overwhelmed by his selflessness when he shielded them from further Ushio's beating, if we think about it, since then Jounouchi has been protective of Yugi and also there is more...

 

This scene was impressively well drawn by Kazuki Takahashi, I really like how he portrays emotional scenes and it's one of the reasons why I love mangas more than the anime, you can let it sink in the art and look at it for few moments.

This body language is from Jounouchi speaking he deeply regrets it of how he behaved with Yugi before they were friends, feeling guilty he was about to throw his friendship with Yugi and "Yugi's treasure" along with Yugi's kindness.

In this scene, Yugi expression of surprise was of understanding the meaning of his motion, he must have confirmed it was Jounouchi who took away from him and give it back the missing piece of the millenium puzzle to Yugi, Yugi realising this plus his plan is working very effectively, making him more motivated to keep moving forward and more determined to save Jounouchi from Marik's mind control.
B!jounouchi response was that he is a duelist, I think is connected to the fact it was Yugi who introduced "Magic and Wizards" TCG to him (and to Dark Yugi as well when was watching over him).

Marik, Marik, tsk, tsk, it seems you didn't listen well to Yami Bakura warning...that their bond were strong, I guess Yami Bakura wasn't too worried about Yugi and co, since he kinda expected them to overcomes the adversities somehow as they did countless times.

Now that Yugi saw his plan working, he used key words to remind Jounouchi to b!jounouchi the source of his strength and willpower to keep fighting, such "sister Shizuka" was really the trigger for his memories and help him get back faster..., when is Yugi speaking, since he speaks in such clear manner and voice, makes it easier for b!jounouchi to understand making it gradually easier to reach Jounouchi from the inside.

 

With these memories coming to Jounouchi of his inner battles and promises of what made him invested in becoming a duelist, the duelist part of his heart was recovered.

Here is a curious detail I want to approach, the first promise Yugi mentions from Duelist Kingdom, it's to Yugi and Dark Yugi at the same time, the Yugi part connect to the fact Yugi always won against Jounouchi and he can owe one from the prize, because this part was said by Dark Yugi implying to Jounouchi he wanted to duel against him then channel to that promise with Dark Yugi in battle city and the other reason to give courage to Shizuka to take off the bandages in addition to be a good role model drawing inspiration from Yugi and Dark Yugi.

 

Marik, if you weren't so overconfident about the mind control, you would be more careful how you phrase things so it wouldn't trigger what would make it difficult to control, this is when he starts making mistakes simultaneously, it was already a mistake underestimating their strong bond.

The Jounouchi panels, I find interesting how Kazuki Takahashi draw it what represented his memories, the first thing that came to mind was his loved ones, friends and his sister, and then the duelists, what I want to emphasise are the characters who he highlights the most, on the loved ones is Yugi while holding the Millenium Puzzle - he is including Dark Yugi as well and his sister, in the duelists section, the list is interesting, we could say they are the duelists he respects the most and taught him something about "being a duelist", and it's cool Ryota is in the list, now who he highlight the most, Dark Yugi first, obviously, between Kaiba and Mai, hmmm is a bit hard to tell, it's obvious Jounouchi wants to be acknowledged by Kaiba as a duelist, Mai is one of the first duelists who first recognized him as a duelist and was the first he fought against as well and taught him a lot too, I would say he respects Mai a tiny bit more than Kaiba.

 

"All you have to do is kill your best friend!" 

Seriously, such a stupid mistake he made here, not even Yami Bakura and Pegasus wouldn't make such an obvious mistake, not even previous villains, except maybe for Shadi...

It was that very phrase that made Jounouchi snap against his control grip, to be honest I think Marik is a bit of an idiot.

 

Who would guess Yugi would be so bold in provoking his enemy/opponent and with more direct and honest approach to attack him, it's impressive coming from Yugi and in this manner as well, it's so refreshing.

Yugi is quite right with what is saying, he is the one who is "controlling" supposedly, he is losing control over Jounouchi and lose the duel in a sense...and what's funny is that he actually fell for the provocation, not difficult to provoke this one...

 

I really like this part, sorry if I didn't include the panel when Jounouchi is fully back and asks Yugi to not to die, as you might have noticed, this post is quite long...(believe me it was super hard to chose the panels T-T), now focusing on the chosen panels, you see Yugi believes in Jounouchi but first he will save his friend...

As for Marik's reaction to the card Yugi played as he was disapearing, well Marik thought Yugi would attack him, but that was Yugi's intention to make him assume he would attack Marik, it was a psychological attack so he could free Jounouchi completely, very smart, however... there is more to this card...

I find these panels really great, specially of Yugi, now is interesting Kaiba realised what Yugi could do, he could chose the direction of Marik's attack, put the possibility of Yugi choosing to hit his opponent or himself and knows he is very capable of former like he did in Duelist Kingdom, to me it shows if Yugi wanted to win if was just against Marik without being a deathmatch, he would have won long time ago, I think is also quite revealing about Yugi dueling style is actually distinctive from Dark Yugi, Dark Yugi is more of a strategist/tactician style, while Yugi is a free-spirited style and problem solving which suits him very well, it's quite refreshing.

Yugi is right, in the mental battle they both won, Jounouchi won the fight against Marik mind control and Yugi was able to accomplished what he wanted to, which was to get Jounouchi back and for their friendship and they both won in their own battles while technical part is still yet to be decided...

 

The panel I focus on Jounouchi, you see he already knows what Yugi is about to do and made him remember the event as well when Yugi shielded him and Honda, he doesn't want something similar happen, he knows Yugi is quite selfless.
Now to the memorable scene, Yugi says what their friendship taught him, when Yugi mentions that he taught him he wasn't alone, Yugi is linking to the events of the many times Jounouchi didn't abandoned him to protect and saved him when was needed, Jounouchi courage because of his wild personality and aware of his rough life regarding his family situation and how he faces adversities, remember Yugi always admired these traits of Jounouchi.
Another final touch, that I love is a friend saying loves his best friend, not in a romantic sense, but in a best friends forever sense, in other words, strong camaraderie, I don't cry in this scene (actually there is hardly a scene that made me cry in the series, maybe a little moved), which is interesting, is not very hard to make me cry but in this series is kinda hard, I get moved but to cry, no. maybe is their cheesiness that puts me off a little.

Yu-Gi-Oh! lore in the TCG Magic and Wizards, as you can see from Yugi putting his own life points drop to zero first would technically end the duel, for some reason it was still on, I guess it was because before Yugi would make his own card to attack him he removed his duel disk first, so his duel disk was still "on", now the strange thing is something similar happened when was Dark Yugi vs Pandora with Black/Dark Magician card spirit protected Dark Yugi of his own accord, here is Jounouchi asking his Red-Eyes, a monster card on Yugi's side of the field, listened to him to attack him to give Jounouchi the chance to save Yugi, if we think about it, it's the only way to get them out of this situation both alive, it would have to be a draw or something like this challenging the science in Yu-Gi-World with cards that can think for itself and listen to their owners even after the duel technically ended, as if the magic from thousands years ago in their world still lingers.

 

We see Jounouchi is quite determined as he always have been to save Yugi when his life was in danger and to stop Yugi from doing something selfless, the other interesting part is how first things first he removes what's important to him and to Yugi, the duel disk to not get broken and the millenium puzzle to not get lost in he ocean and forgot his own key, get to Yugi's key to save him, that's impressive...pretty cool and bit stupid...

(laughs a lot), this scene is extremely funny, even though I thought Kaiba was a bit mean in taking a bit of time to let the key fall just to tease Jounouchi (though I admit is kinda funny), Jounouchi's reaction to this news it was Kaiba who saved him, it's very funny and Kaiba finally acknowledges him as a duelist.

This scene is quite adorable :), which means Millenium Puzzle is linked to what symbolises their friendship, also Jounouchi respects a lot the bond Yugi has with Dark Yugi.

See ya Next post!